Keeping in Touch: How to spend my Summer Holiday?
by Ilse
Summary: Voldemort still regains his strength and the trio needs a way to stay in contact with their family somehow. The Family Granger introduces a new way to keep in touch and this brings changes into the lives of everyone at Hogwarts!
1. KIT: Volume 1, Chapter 1, Part 1

**Keeping in Touch**

**Series Title:** Keeping in Touch  
**Characters:** Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Dobby  
**Pairings:** Hermione/Surprise, others (yet to be determined)  
**Genre:** General - Adult  
**Parental Rating:** R - NC17  
**Classifications:** Friendship, Romance, First Times, Love, Comedy, Answer to "the Digital Weasleys" Challenge, Spoilers up to and including Order of the Phoenix (OoTP), Post OoTP  
**Summary:** Voldemort still regains his strength and the trio needs a way to stay in contact with their family somehow. The Family Granger introduces a new way to keep in touch and this brings changes into the lives of everyone at Hogwarts!   
**Keywords:** Computers, Post OoTP, Love, Friendship, and Romance  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The storyline about the introduction of the computer is my own idea so therefore I hold the copyright of the idea. **Author's note for disclaimer:** This complete story is written from the point of view that the original books ere first published in 1995 instead of 1997. This does not affect the timeline from the original stories, but this slight change does have affect on "Keeping in Touch".  
**Author's note part 1:** Italics between apostrophes is thinking (i.e. 'Cheez, did I really ever like this?' she thought). Notes about the whereabouts will look like this: GRANGER RESIDENCE.  
I want to thank my beta-readers Violet Wolf Sara, Jessica and Rachealle for reading my story, getting out all the mistakes and helping me working out ideas for the story! I want to thank Louis for Britt-picking my story! And, last but not least, I want to thank Ali, Shannon, Fionnabair, Disturbedapple, A'Marie, LadyAire, Alshain and Scherzando for helping me work out some ideas!  
The story will be archived at Hogwarts' Tales () (Hogwarts) and Fiction Alley () (Schnoogle [Sch]) and Fanfiction.net (Harry Potter). If you'd like to archive this story anywhere else, please let me know! I won't give you a hard time, but I like to know first where my stories are placed! You can send me an owl via FA and HT!  
I love (constructive) feedback! You can leave feedback at HT, FA(Sch) and Fanfiction.net and you can send me an owl. 

  
**

Volume one: The introduction of "The Computer"

**

**Chapter One: How to spend my summer holiday?**

Part 1. 

GRANGERS RESIDENCE

_'This summer is different than the previous ones. Since Sirius died, nothing's been the same. Harry distanced himself from us; Ron thinks I am in love with Victor Krum while really, I love - No, not going there now! It's all really complicated! And to top it all, we have to go back home during the summer and no one knows what to expect next year. It's all different now! This is not what I had expected when I went to Hogwarts for the first time. Why can't it be like it was before? Will we see things happening in the Muggle world, now that Voldemort regains his strength? Will we be able to fight him again, and can Harry handle facing him again? And how can we keep track of things in the Muggle world? We just have to know if things are happening!'_  
With this last thought, Hermione drifted off to sleep, unaware that her parents were concerned about her. After all, they had been through a lot too, from a distance. All they had heard was a bit of news from the Weasleys and most of the time the news hadn't been comforting at all. They sat in front of the fire in the living room, talking about the situation. They knew they couldn't keep Hermione home, although that was the most attractive alternative. "How about sending her an Owl every day? Of course we have to ask her to send one back everyday too, but then we at least know she's alright." Hermione's mother asked her husband worriedly.  
"No, I don't think that'll do. What happens if one of her housemates gets a hold of the letters? Or one of the Slytherins? Or worse, You-Know-Who himself? That's really not an option."  
"Then what? There's nothing left! We have to be able to do something!"   
"You're right. We have to come up with something. We just have to. I have been thinking about this a lot these last few weeks, but I haven't come up with a good solution. Or maybe .."  
"What? Do you have an idea? Tell me!"  
"Well, it might work. Provided that I don't know, it could"   
"What is it?" Mrs Granger asked impatiently.  
"How about a computer?"  
Mrs Granger looked perplexed at her husband. "A computer? They don't have computers at Hogwarts, do they? I have never heard Hermione mention any! Doesn't You-Know-Who know about computers? And if he does, won't he be able to track it down?" Mrs Granger asked worried.  
"I know. It's complicated, but it might work. It might work because of the fact they do not have computers! I mean, in Diagon Alley I haven't seen any computers either, so I guess they just don't have them. If I have understood Arthur correctly, the ministry doesn't have computers; they have other devices to help them. They don't really need computers, and I don't think You-Know-Who knows about computers. But a computer can help us!" Mr Granger explained.  
"But how? It's no use if Hermione has a computer and we don't. Shouldn't we have one ourselves too? And who can explain to her how things work while she's there? What can she do when something's broken? What-" Mrs Granger asked worried.  
"We can think of a lot of things that can go wrong, dear, but let's look on the bright side." Mr Granger interrupted. "When she has a computer and is connected to the Internet, she can send e-mails to us instead of using the owls. This is a good way to keep in touch with her and to keep her informed about everything that's happening here. She's so worried about everything, since these death eaters have been in Little Whinging. This will help her too."  
"You've got a point. But how do we get _two_ computers? It's not like we have loads of money and if I heard Molly correctly, we will have to reserve some money for Hermione's sixth year. It's going to be more expensive then the previous years."  
"That's true. But I think we can find a solution for that. A colleague of mine can get computers for a reasonable price. Maybe we can work something out. It should be a computer that will not be noticed quickly, shouldn't it?" Mr Granger asked.  
"It's interesting indeed. It's a good option! Can't we give her a laptop? That would not be noticed quickly, would it?"  
"I think it is a good solution. I surely hope this will give us a good opportunity to keep in touch. It might be far more effective than the owl post. At least I hope it will be." Mr Granger said a bit uncertain.  
"Yes indeed. Can we call your colleague tonight? In that way we do not need to spend more time tomorrow morning."  
Mr Granger rose from his chair and picked up the telephone. "I'll do it right away." After he had dialled the number, the phone rang twice, before it was picked up. "Hello, Peter? Listen, I want to ask you something." He made an arrangement for the next morning. They would meet up in a café near a computer shop. Peter would accompany them to the shop.  
With a small sigh of relief, Mrs Granger stood up from her chair. "Shall we go to bed? It's already late and if we want to go shopping tomorrow, I think it's best to get up early in the morning."  
"You're right about that." And with that Mr Granger stood up and followed his wife to the bedroom.

The next morning Hermione woke up, still feeling down. "Oh, these dreams. It's just too much! Feeling his hands on- No, hold it. Not going there. That's too much! Think about something else Herm, just think of something else. You have to get him out of your head! You have thought about him too much these last few weeks! Let's see, something else.. Oh, right, staying updated about everything that happens here! I have to find a solution. If I could just-"  
"Hermione, are you awake? Breakfast is ready," her mother called from downstairs.  
"Yes mum, I'm coming down!"  
Downstairs she saw her parents already dressed, which was highly unusual so early on a Saturday morning. "What's going on?"  
"Well, it's nothing serious, really. You've told us you are worried about how the rising of You-Know-Who will reflect on our world _and_ you want to stay updated. Right?" her mother asked.  
"Ehh.. yeah, that's true. But."  
"Why do we bring it up again? We may have found a solution." Her mother stated.  
"You have? How? What? Where? I have been thinking about it, but - No solution. So, what did you think of?"  
"Computers," said her father.  
Hermione looked at her father blankly. "Computers? What do you mean?"  
"You don't have computers in the wizarding world, do you?"  
"Ehh no, we don't. Why?"  
"And You-Know-Who knows nothing about computers?"  
"I guess not. I don't know."  
"Well then, computers are your solution."  
"But how?" she asked, puzzled.  
"We want to buy a computer for ourselves and another for you. And of course we have to make sure we both have an Internet connection."  
"You want to give me a computer? Just give me one? You're kidding! This is so great!" Her face lit with excitement. "Oh, but wait. Hogwarts has these protection spells. Muggle objects don't work there, neither does electricity. So I guess an Internet connection won't work either," she said worried. "Maybe Professor Dumbledore can come up with a solution. I'll contact him about it. I'm sure he knows a way to work around this. So, when do you want-"  
"-to go shopping?" Mrs Granger interrupted. "After we have had breakfast. What do you think? You're up to a little morning shopping?"  
"Yes! Where do we go? And what are we looking for?"  
"Eat first. We will talk about the rest later."  


  


To be continued


	2. Keeping in Touch: How to spend my Summer...

**

Keeping in Touch

**

**Summary:** Voldemort still regains his strength and the trio needs a way to stay in contact with their family somehow. The Family Granger introduces a new way to keep in touch and this brings changes into the lives of everyone at Hogwarts! In this part: Ron has to de-gnome the garden. He gets an Owl message from Harry; the muggles have allowed him to come early this year!  
**Author's note part 1:** Italics between apostrophes is thinking (i.e. _'Cheez, did I really ever like this?'_ she thought). Notes about the whereabouts will look like this: Granger Residence.  
I want to thank my beta-readers Violet Wolf Sara, Jessica and Rachealle for reading my story, getting out all the mistakes and helping me working out ideas for the story! I want to thank Louis for Britt-picking my story! And, last but not least, I want to thank Ali, Shannon, Fionnabair, Disturbedapple, A'Marie, LadyAire, Alshain and Scherzando for helping me work out some ideas!  
The story will be archived at Hogwarts' Tales () (Hogwarts) and Fiction Alley () (Schnoogle [Sch]) and Fanfiction.net (). If you'd like to archive this story anywhere else, please let me know! I won't give you a hard time, but I like to know first where my stories are placed! You can send me an owl via FA and HT!  
I love (constructive) feedback! You can leave feedback at HT, FA(Sch) and Fanfiction.net and you can send me an owl.  
**Other information:** All other information can be found in the first part!

  
**

Volume one: The introduction of "The Computer"

**

**Chapter One: How to spend my summer holiday?**

From part 1  
"You want to give me a computer? Just give me one? You're kidding! This is so great!" Her face lit with excitement. "Oh, but wait. Hogwarts has these protection spells. Muggle objects don't work there, neither does electricity. So I guess an Internet connection won't work either," she said worried. "Maybe Professor Dumbledore can come up with a solution. I'll contact him about it. I'm sure he knows a way to work around this. So, when do you want-"  
"-to go shopping?" Mrs Granger interrupted. "After we have had breakfast. What do you think? You're up to a little morning shopping?"  
"Yes! Where do we go? And what are we looking for?"  
"Eat first. We will talk about the rest later."  


Part 2.

The Burrow

"Ronald Weasley, come down here. Right this instant!" Molly Weasley stood at the bottom of the stairs with an angry face, hands on her hips, tapping her foot.  
"What now? I haven't done anything!" Ron came out of his room, where he had been playing Exploding Snap.  
"That's precisely the whole point! You should have cleaned the garden by now; you were late for breakfast this morning and it's not just today that you're doing nothing! You haven't done many of your chores since you have come home. And you're just playing around, exactly like your brothers!"  
"They're not really playing around, are they?"  
"No, you're right! They dropped school and think they can make a living with their joke shop. And that's precisely why I need you to do what you have to do in this house."  
"And what about Ginny? Can't she do something too? I have to work for my sixth year, remember?"  
"Ah, yes, I remember, and Ginny is working very hard too for her 5th year. And she has already done her chores! Now she's relaxing a bit. Let her be! Go and de-gnome the garden!"  
"Yeah, alright, but after that I'm going to do what I want to!" he yelled at Molly. "Geez. I'll be glad when Harry gets here! Finally I will have something else to do than these chores," he muttered under his breath as he walked into the garden.  
"These kids nowadays don't have respect anymore! Oh well, maybe they've had a bit too much this last year, but that does NOT mean they can act like this. And Fred and George think they're." Ron heard his mother burst out. He knew almost exactly what the rest of her tirade would be. "And Fred and George think they're going to make it with their Joke Shop. I guess we will have to see if they really succeed. I have my doubts about it! And Ron, what will become of him? Okay, he's a prefect, but something tells me he will not be" With a perfect imitation of his mother's voice he walked to the garden border, seeing one of the gnomes already. "I'll get you out of here. Count on that!" he said to the gnome as he picked it up and swirled it around to throw away.

As he was getting rid of the last gnomes, Pigwidgeon flew into the garden and started circling around Ron's head. "Get away Pig. I'm not in the mood to play. Shoo. I'll take your message later."  
Pigwidgeon hooted, but instead of flying off, he kept circling excitedly above Ron's head. "I said get off! What do you want?" Ron yelled at Pigwidgeon.  
Pigwidgeon flew to the nearest stool and stood there, holding out his tiny leg. There, Ron noticed, a very tiny note was attached. He got it off Pigwidgeon's leg and patted him on the back. "Sorry Pig. I'm just not in the mood. Go to mum for a treat." Pigwidgeon flew towards the kitchen and out of Ron's sight. Ron opened the folded note. "Geez, he couldn't have folded it any smaller, could he?" he muttered.

_Everything's ok  
Uncle Vernon has repaired everything and I can do my homework freely in my own room now!  
And, last but not least..  
I may come to you in two weeks!  
Harry_

"Hmmm. Couldn't he have told me something more? This is saying nothing. I want to know what's really happening!" frustrated, he looked over the note again. "There's really nothing more. Wait, maybe." He pulled out his wand and said "Aparecium." Letters began to form and now he could read something else too.

_I am okay, but this is boring. I guess you felt the same way I did last year.  
We have to find a solution to keep in touch without Voldemort finding out.  
Have you heard from Hermione?  
Harry_

"Aha! I knew it! I knew that couldn't be everything Harry would write." Ron exclaimed.  
"What did Harry write, dear?" Molly had given Pigwidgeon a treat and had come to the garden to see what was going on.  
"Harry has sent a note back! The muggles have allowed him to come and visit us early this year! He can come in two weeks. And he wants to have a better way to keep in touch."  
"Good, I'll tell your father. We have to make arrangements on how to get Harry here. Maybe we can borrow a car from the Ministry this year. Now that everything has changed, maybe they will be a bit easier with this." Distracted, Molly began to walk away, but then she turned. "What else did he write?" she said in an incredulous voice.  
"Well, Harry wrote that he thinks this way of writing is boring. He'd like to write much more," Ron hesitated, "he wants to find a way to do this without V-v-v-Voldemort - there, I said it - knowing it. We haven't really discussed this, but we do want to find a way to do this. V-v-Voldemort is-"  
Molly shuddered.  
"Yes mum, it's time we finally learn to say his name out loud. How can we face our fears if we can't give the proper names?"  
Molly looked astonished. "You have grown a lot. This prefect job has affected you in a positive way, I think. So, you want to have a way to keep in touch without V-v-Vol-" she took a deep breath, "Voldemort knowing about it. You don't want much, do you? Does Harry have an idea?"  
"No, he doesn't, just like I don't have an idea. See?" He handed the tiny note over to his mother.  
Molly read the note. "Well, I don't see where he states that he wants this solution. What-"  
"Oh, damn. I forgot." Ron muttered the spell and the words appeared on the note again.  
"Right, okay." Molly looked surprised. "We have to find Heard from Hermio. So, you're sure about this? You haven't started something stupid, have you?"  
"Mum, what do you think? I'm a prefect, remember. I can't do that anymore!"  
"Well, I do remember a certain illegal DA class in which you took a very active role while you were a prefect! But, on the other hand you're right, and you're doing well with your prefect job, as I have understood it. Well, I don't have a solution. But maybe your father knows something. We'll just have to wait until he's home."  
"What can I tell Harry? I mean, he wants to know, right?"  
"You can send him a message once we have talked to your father tonight. In the meantime, you've done a pretty good job with the garden. I think it's been enough. Thank you for your help. You can go and do your homework now."  
"Thanks mum. Hey, do you have some cakes left?" Beaming at his mother, he started to clean the mess he had made in the garden.  
"You're lucky. We do have some left. Go and get some. I'll clean this last bit."  
Ron took off to the kitchen and grabbed a few cakes. "I'll let you know when your father is home!" he heard Molly yell from the garden.  
"Thanks mum!" He ran upstairs, into his room and picked up his game again.

"Hmmm, a better way to keep in touch. They do have a point of course. What could be a good solution for that? Back in the old days we didn't use other means than the Owl Post. I doubt the Ministry will have a solution. Maybe we ought to contact Albus about this. Oh well, let's just wait until Arthur's home," Molly mumbled, while she cleaned the last part of the garden.

To be continued


End file.
